Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo is partly to blame for the lingering leadership tussle in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Edozie Njoku, a chieftain of the party, has said.
Sunday PUNCH reports that Chief Njoku and Victor Oye have been at loggerheads over the control of APGA with both men laying claims to the national chairmanship of the party.
Although, Victor Oye is the recognised chairman of the party by the Independent National Electoral Commission owing to the October 14 judgment of the Supreme Court, Njoku wrote the apex court, arguing that Oye was not a party to the suit ab initio, urging the Justices of the Supreme Court to take another look at the judgment.
Njoku, armed with a letter of clarification purportedly written by Justice Mary Odili (now retired), wrote a public letter to INEC, urging the umpire to accord him recognition on the basis of the amended judgment and the letter of clarification.
However, Njoku was arraigned and subsequently remanded in Suleja prison for alleged forgery a fortnight ago alongside the factional National Youth Leader of the party, Chukwuemeka Nwoga, in 14 charges brought before Justice Mohammed Madugu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Bwari.
The Office of the Inspector General of Police claimed the Supreme Court judgment and letter by Justice Odili were forged; an allegation Njoku denied.
The accused were subsequently granted bail, with the trial set to begin on February 14/15, 2023.
Speaking exclusively to Sunday PUNCH, Njoku accused Soludo of leadership failure, arguing that as the only elected governor produced by APGA, he ought to have gone the whole distance to ensure that justice prevailed on the matter.
He said, “Charles Soludo is the executive Governor of Anambra State, the only governor APGA has. As a leader, he is not expected to take sides. He must be aware that for there to be forgery, there must be others from the Supreme Court involved and also charged.
“Only me and the APGA youth leader were charged. He also should know that it is the Supreme Court that should be shouting foul if their judgement was forged and not the person who lost out.
“If I had forged any document, then the police would have arrested me and not trying to use a bench warrant or bail to put me behind bars. With all this in mind, he ought to have intervened which he hasn’t.”
Speaking with our correspondent, the National Administrative Secretary of the Njoku-led APGA faction, Benedict Okoro, said, “Soludo is not a product of Owerri convention. Perhaps, this is why he feels strongly against recognising Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA. Under this circumstance, Soludo’s disposition ought to be neutral.
“Being the only governor of APGA demands that he shows respect to the Supreme Court judgement, which favoured Chief Edozie Njoku. This is the only way he can distinguish himself as a leader.”
According to him, the governor’s stand on the apex court’s judgment “belittles whatever he stands for, either as an academic or a leader.”
He continued: “The idea of hiding behind Chief Victor Oye to harass Chief Edozie Njoku will only deepen the division in the party. It is really pathetic that while others are preparing for election, APGA is enmeshed in a vortex of crisis being staged by Soludo.
“The office of a governor is powerful. But when a governor deploys the apparatus of the state against his national chairman, one wonders what point he is trying to make.
Soludo’s aide reacts
Reacting, the Press Secretary to the Anambra State governor, Christian Aburime, dismissed the comments made by the APGA factional chairman and his cohorts.
Aburime said people should disregard Njoku because APGA did not have a factional leader, as the court had described him as an “interloper”.
He added that the recognised leader of APGA remained Oye, and that is the person Soludo is supporting.
He said, “People should dismiss what Njoku is saying, APGA is one and the only recognised leader is Victor Oye. The court has described Njoku and his group as interlopers that don’t exist.
“Soludo is a party man and supports the interest of APGA at all times. We are not dealing with Njoku, as a matter of fact, such person does not exist in APGA.”
